Lake Forest deputy connects with homeless in new role

A mattress rests in a grassy area in Lake Forest between a row of homes and a shopping center on Rockfield Boulevard. Deputy Robert Peque&#241;o said a homeless couple had been sleeping there at night.ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

By the numbers

4,251: Estimated number of people homeless on any given night in Orange County

1,678: Estimated number of homeless people on any given night in Orange County living on the street, in a car or in other places not meant for habitation

986: Estimated number of homeless people on any given night in Orange County with chronic substance abuse

480: Estimated number of homeless people on any given night in Orange County with severe mental illness

48: Estimated average age of the adult homeless population on any given night in Orange County

Source: 2013 Orange County Homeless Count and Survey Report

LAKE FOREST – It involved a cowboy hat, poultry and tequila, and it might go down as one of the quickest cases Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Pequeño will ever solve.

At the start, it wasn’t his case. A Smart & Final employee dialed 911 to report the theft of a cooked chicken and a bottle of tequila, and described the suspect as wearing a cowboy hat.

Deputy William Longan picked up the call and headed to the store. Pequeño, who overheard the details on his police radio, knew exactly where to go: the “Bermuda Triangle.” That’s his name for the area where Lake Forest, Laguna Hills and Mission Viejo meet near I-5. It’s easy to get lost there; the territory is unfamiliar to most area residents and debris is strewn about.

“Sure enough, I’m driving and I see him,” Pequeño said, who spotted the man’s hat. In less than 10 minutes, the man – still wearing the hat – admitted to stealing the goods, according to Pequeño. The man later pleaded guilty to burglary, according to court records.

“Because of what (Pequeño) knows about these guys and where they’re living and staying, he’s been able to solve some cases and do it quickly,” Longan said. “Cases like that don’t often get solved that quickly. Usually it takes reviewing video … to get a suspect.”

The case is one of six Pequeño has helped close since he was commissioned in May as the Sheriff’s Department’s first full-time homeless-liaison officer, a role in Lake Forest in which he carefully blends police and social work.

At first, Pequeño declined the unglamorous role. But the next day, he accepted the post.

He said he did so out of loyalty to the department, which supported him unconditionally after his teenage son crashed on Santiago Canyon Road and sustained life-threatening injuries in 2011.

Information Pequeño has compiled during his rounds has helped put names and faces to Lake Forest’s resident homeless, and he is connecting people on the streets with resources that may, if they are interested and able, help them return to housing. Fewer homeless people will reduce crime, he said.

The population has reportedly increased in other Orange County cities, which spurred Lake Forest police chief, Lt. Pat Higa, to look within the department for someone to take charge of a new beat.

“We needed to get ahead of it,” Higa said. “Rob took off running with it.”

HIDDEN TERRITORY

Pequeño's newfound knowledge hasn't been gathered through the usual patrol sweep, leaning out a sedan window.

He has shed 18 pounds tromping through town to talk to people huddled next to a grocery store generator or in brush along the Aliso Creek Trail. Shining his shoes is barely worth the effort these days because of the dust and dirt he picks up in parks. To track down homeless people, who often prefer to remain off the radar, “sometimes I have to think like them,” he said.

Some live out of sight, prioritizing privacy and safety. Others have the implicit OK from a business or resident to sleep on their property. A few sleep in the open, on benches or in alleys.

A mattress rests in a grassy area in Lake Forest between a row of homes and a shopping center on Rockfield Boulevard. Deputy Robert Pequeño said a homeless couple had been sleeping there at night. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Deputy Robert Pequeño points to where a makeshift roof once existed in a homeless encampment in South Orange County. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Deputy Robert Pequeño holds a blade he found in a homeless encampment in Lake Forest. Pequeño said homeless people often arm themselves at night with makeshift weapons. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Bicycles and sleeping bags rest against a wall near the north 5 freeway and the Aliso Creek Trail, where some homeless people live. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Clothes and trash are scattered throughout an abandoned homeless encampment adjacent to the Aliso Creek Trail. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Deputy Robert Pequeño walks alongside the south 5 freeway near where a homeless woman has been camping out. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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